Bitter Truths

by Sam Crescent

  The walk went by too soon, and before she knew it, she was outside of the main casino. She was used to taking long walks. It was the only thing she did that helped to clear her head.

  Standing outside of the casino, she stared up at the main building. Even during the day it was so busy. She didn’t know how people could do it, gamble away their life.

  “You okay?” Gideon asked, surprising her by coming up behind her.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be in there?” She pointed at the casino.

  “Nope. We’ve all got our own stuff to do. We’re not supposed to be there all the time.”

  “Oh.”

  “You thought we were some kind of gang that has to do everything at the same time?”

  She shrugged. “To be honest, I didn’t really give it much of a thought.” All she had been able to think about was Oliver, which was not like her.

  Who was she kidding? Just recently it was exactly like her.

  “You can come in,” he said. “Oliver wouldn’t want you to stay out in the cold.”

  With Gideon’s hand at her back, she followed him in the casino. She didn’t know how he did it, but he got to the elevator without bumping into anyone. The place was so crowded. It was making her nervous even being there. The ride in the elevator didn’t help to slow her nerves.

  You can do this.

  He’s just a guy.

  A guy who is determined to make you want him so much.

  She took a deep breath, and the elevator came to a stop, and they walked off together.

  Gideon whistled as they made their way toward the main office. He knocked, and seconds later entered.

  “Am I interrupting anything?” Gideon asked.

  She stayed in the doorway, looking in to find Landon, Charlotte, Jacob, and Oliver. The moment Oliver saw her, the scowl turned into a smile.

  “Ruby.”

  “Hey, you said to meet you here.”

  “I found her staring at the casino. It’s amazing how you blend in. A Santos never blends in,” Gideon said.

  “It’s why I’ve lived so long. My brother taught me how to stay invisible.” The pain was still there, but it wasn’t as overpowering. There were other thoughts, fears, concerns on her mind.

  Lionel would want her to focus.

  Oliver moved to stand behind her. “You don’t need me anymore about this. I’m going to head out, do my rounds.”

  “With Ruby?” Charlotte asked.

  “I want to go with him.”

  “You do know what they do?” Charlotte looked completely taken aback.

  “Yes, I do. I’m not the kind of woman who can sit around at home, and right now, I need to do something to keep my mind off of the pressing issues.”

  “Pressing issues?” Maddox asked.

  “Just something a friend of mine warned about. It’s nothing.”

  “We’re going to need to talk about what you want to do with your house, and your trust fund,” Maddox said.

  She shook her head. “Right now, I really don’t want to think about it. I’d appreciate it if you just left it for now.”

  “You could be living there though. It’s yours, Ruby. Your legacy.”

  Ruby couldn’t help but laugh. “With all due respect, that place has like ten rooms in it. It’s too big, and I’ll spend more time cleaning it. I hate cleaning.”

  “We could hire someone for you.”

  “No. I’m not, I don’t trust easily. Be happy that I’m still here with you guys because this is not normal for me. I’ve had ten years of being alone. It’s the way I like it.”

  She turned her back to him and left the main office.

  “You don’t have to be alone anymore,” Oliver said.

  “Do you want me to move out of your apartment?” she asked.

  “Hell no.”

  “Then stop giving me ideas of leaving your apartment.” She held onto his arms, walking with him out of the main building. Ignoring the sounds of the machines, and the hustle and bustle of the crowds, she let out a sigh of relief the moment she spotted the car.

  Once inside the car, she strapped in, and relaxed into the leather.

  “What do you think of the porn you’ve been watching?” he asked.

  ****

  “How do you know about that?”

  Oliver knew about everything, especially seeing as she’d left the television on the channel one night when he turned it on. He’d put two and two together, coming up with a very horny woman. Ruby hadn’t come back to him yet with demands. He’d hoped she would have by now. The days seemed to be blending into one another, and as much as he wished that he could focus all of his attention on Ruby, the family needed him. With the Coltons breathing down their neck, and the past threat of a betrayer, not to mention the crap going on with Landon, they were all stretched thin.

  “Haven’t you learned yet? I know most things.”

  She shrugged. “This is horrible.”

  “Why is it horrible?” he asked.

  “It just is. You knowing I’ve watched porn. I feel so stupid.”

  “I wouldn’t if I was you. I find it hot that you watch it.”

  “You do?”

  “Hell yeah. It means that maybe one day you’ll come to me, and I’ll be able to show you everything you’re missing out on.”

  “Do you really have that much confidence in your skills?” she asked.

  “Babe, I damn well know that I’m good.”

  “Oh.”

  Oliver chanced a glance at her. “You okay? You seem a little … distracted.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just thinking about what my friend said. It kind of concerned me is all. No problem.”

  “You can share everything with me.”

  “Not right now. I feel porn for some strange reason is the best topic. I’m not ready to share everything right now.”

  Oliver took her hand. If he couldn’t have her thoughts then he was going to hold her, and do his best to comfort her in any way that he could. He drove them toward the nightclub that the Dentons owned in the center of the city. It was a good place to party, and also had a huge basement that held people.

  When it came to guns and drugs, they had MC members to do their business for them, and they paid them handsomely for it. In the basement, it was where they dealt with their loans.

  Parking outside, Oliver waited for her to climb out of the car as they headed toward the club.

  “I’ve heard of this place. It’s supposed to be the best place to party,” she said.

  “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” he asked.

  “Why not? I’ve seen a lot of bad shit in my time. I’ve held my dying brother.” She shrugged, and he wished he’d been there to protect her, save her.

  He entered the club with his keycard, and nodded toward the staff that was there. They were all on the Denton payroll and knew to keep their mouths shut. He wasn’t interested there, so he made his way down to the basement.

  Three battered men were locked away in the cells that they kept, and he found Joe, the manager of the club, pacing. The Denton policy was to leave most of the interrogation to one of them.

  “Oliver, man, I’m so pleased you’re here.”

  “What’s going on?” he asked. He couldn’t recall a time that Joe looked freaked.

  “Erm, we were robbed last night.”

  “Robbed?”

  “Yeah. These fuckers turned up in my office, and distracted me. They owe money, and we were about to collect on the goods. For nearly half an hour, they distracted me. We lost five men last night, Oliver.”

  “Tell me everything.”

  Behind him, he felt Ruby move around, looking at the empty safes, which were completely open. She didn’t touch anything, and she was frowning.

  “What is it?” he asked, interrupting Joe’s fuck up to talk to his woman.

  “They knew the codes.”

  “What?”

  “The safe shows no signs of forced ent
ry. I take it all of your money was locked away in multiple safes, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Look at it. This was simply opened. This is really old school handling. Haven’t you thought of, I don’t know, increasing your security?”

  Oliver walked over to the safe, and gripped the door. “My dad’s a believer in keeping things old school. It’s a way of staying under the radar. It’s one of those things that he’s gotten from my grandfather.”

  “Wait, fingerprints!”

  “There won’t be any cops coming down here to take fingerprints. This is where we keep our own problems private.”

  “You don’t have your own setup?”

  “What?”

  “Don’t you have some science nerds who’ll be more than happy to work for you if you paid them a really good salary?” she asked. “They’re not that hard to find.”

  He’d not thought of that, and neither had his dad. They usually bribed some cops for information that they needed, and this operation had been consistent all of their lives, through several generations. What was the point in changing something that wasn’t broken?

  “It seems a bit careless of you. You could know who stole from you without any worries. There’s no reason for you to bring in the cops. You can handle things in house. You just need to find the right people who are more willing to work for you than they are anyone else. What about security?”

  “Security is in the main club. It’s not here. We can’t use any of the footage, and if we get hacked, it could be used against us, which is one of the reasons we don’t have anything hooked up here,” Oliver said. “It’s old school for my parents, and great-grandparents. You can’t trust anyone.”

  “Oh. I think you need to come into the twenty-first century.” Ruby walked toward the men in the cells. “What do you know?”

  “They’ve not been talking,” Joe said. “I know they know something.”

  “They’ll talk,” Ruby said.

  Oliver watched as she tensed up. She gripped the bars.

  “Fuck you, slut.” One of the men said.

  “You’ll regret that.” She turned toward them. “Give me the key.”

  “I don’t know who you are, lady. This is a Denton problem, and you’re not a Denton.”

  “She is a Denton,” Oliver said. “Give her the key.” He wanted to see what she was made of. No woman had ever impressed him, and he wondered if she was about to be the first one.

  Joe handed the key over, and Ruby took it. Holding onto his gun at his back, he waited. Oliver wanted to see what she was capable of. He would take over if he needed to.

  She unlocked the door, and when the man charged, she was waiting. Using his own weight against him, she shoved him back inside, and he crashed against the cages.

  Ruby was trained. The man wasn’t.

  “Who were they?” she asked.

  “Fuck you!”

  She kicked out, slamming her foot against his dick. While he was distracted with his dick, she hit him with her fist. “Try again.”

  Oliver was impressed with her skill, and the man, he took a beating, but when she pulled a knife from her sheath around her ankle, and had it pressed to his dick, he gave up the names. They were not professional. Whoever hired them hadn’t cared, or there was a reason for sending them, and from what Joe said, they did their job well. They were supposed to distract Joe, and they’d achieved that.

  The Coltons.

  All of them had been in the club last night.

  Ruby left the cage and locked it. “They didn’t do this alone,” she said. “They knew the codes to the safe. So either, he’s lying.” She pointed at Joe, who looked insulted. “Or your traitor is coming out of hiding along with the Coltons.”

  If Oliver had not been watching her closely, he wouldn’t have noticed the slight tremor in her body. She was getting closer to finding out who had killed her brother. Those men were just cogs in a machine.

  “Go and have a drink. I’ll call my family. They’ll come and deal with it.” He grabbed her hand, holding her, offering her his strength.

  “I’ll do that.”

  He put the call through to his father, and after telling them everything, he waited for his family to arrive.

  “I swear it wasn’t me.”

  “I know.” Joe’s loyalty was absolute. Besides, ten years ago, Joe had been only just working up the ranks. He didn’t know enough to scale the attack and murder of the Santos family. No, someone had to not only have known the Dentons back then, but also be close to Santos, and know security codes now. Even Oliver didn’t know them completely. There were over ten safes, and each of them requiring a code.

  He waited for his father and brothers to arrive, giving them an update before heading upstairs to find Ruby sitting at the bar. She looked sad, scarily so.

  Climbing into the chair next to her, he leaned on his hand, and stared.

  “You kicked ass,” he said.

  “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?” She didn’t smile. She did nothing more than stare at a locket around her neck.

  “Lionel give you that?”

  “You probably think it’s creepy being this close to my brother.”

  “I don’t. I’m not close to my brothers, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand. I do. More than you’ll ever realize.” Jacob, Abel, himself, Gideon, Damian, and even Landon were all close. Sure, they got on each other’s last nerve, but it was part of being brothers. He would fight to the fucking death to keep his brothers alive. “There’s a bond with family, with brothers and sisters. It’s not always there, but I feel it. I’d kill and die for my family, Ruby. I’m not a good man, but when it comes to family, I’ll always do right by them.”

  She sighed. “You’re a weird man.”

  “I’ve been called a lot worse, believe me.”

  “I don’t know what to do to be honest. Sometimes I think I get what my place is in the world, and other times, I really don’t know.”

  “What were you doing before you tried to kill me? For cash?”

  “Besides training, and doing some of the badass fights, I was actually waitressing at this old-fashioned diner place. It’s a piece of shit place, but it paid, and didn’t ask questions when I turned up with bruises. They probably assumed I got them from some loser boyfriend.” She shrugged. “You just got to do what you’ve got to do.”

  “Yeah.”

  “How is your dad handling what happened down there?”

  “He’s pissed. Of course he’s pissed. We’ve got a rat in our crew, and that is never good.”

  “Maybe Lewis can find something for the two of us.”

  “Lewis?”

  “He’s a guy I know. Like an adoptive brother. If he can find anything that there is to be found, he’ll do it. He’s good at that.”

  “I’m jealous.”

  “You don’t need to be.” She put the locket back on. “He’s not my type.”

  “Who is your type?”

  “I don’t know. Tall, muscular, green eyes, brown hair, a few tats. I’m not picky.”

  She was flirting with him. At least, he was sure she was. Damn, he felt like a damn kid in high school.

  “Really, I’m sure you’ve just mentioned a great deal of the population.”

  “Nah, this guy has a last name that not many people have, but lots fear it.”

  “Do you?”

  She stared at him, and she shook her head. “No. I don’t. I used to fear it. There would be nights I’d lie awake wondering if they would come for me, finish me off.”

  “You got it wrong.”

  “I got it so wrong. Oliver?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Will you take me home? I feel … tired.”

  He chuckled. “You don’t sound like you’re used to that feeling?”

  “I’m not. I’m really not, and I’m freaking out a little. I just want to go and lie down.”

  He took her hand. “I’ll take you home, and we can chat later. It�
�s time I had a little break. I’ve been working around the clock trying to get all this shit done.”

  “Go and tell them that we’re going, and then we’ll go. I don’t want them chasing after us if they think you’re still waiting around.”

  “Good point.”

  Oliver made his way back down to the basement, saying his goodbyes, and that he’d keep in touch. He really just wanted to be with Ruby, and right now, she was clearly exhausted.

  ****

  “What do you want to do, Landon?” Charlotte asked.

  Landon looked down the table at his mother. He was sitting, drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Sarah had already gone to bed, and it was hard for him to not go upstairs and watch over her. He’d already been arguing with his parents and his brothers about what he wanted.

  Moving to England seemed like the only logical explanation. Sarah would be there, and he had his uncle. The life he wanted was here though. He couldn’t deny that the need to take his rightful place as a Denton was strong. The biggest problem was his love of Sarah. She was so young, and he didn’t want to pull her into his world. When he tried to get advice from Rick, his uncle had told him straight, this was the decision that he had to make alone.

  It sucked.

  He was used to being told what to do.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Are you waiting around for one of us to order you?” his mother asked.

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Sweetie, this is not a decision that your father and I can make for you. This is up to you, and we’ll respect that decision.”

  “I don’t believe that.”

  Charlotte moved toward him, taking a seat, and holding his hands. “I love you, Landon. You’re my youngest son, and I want what is best for you. Sending you to England, it was the last resort, but you just weren’t listening. Whatever you decide, I’ll know it’ll be what you want to do.”